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Trump, Abbas call for new start to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

Posted on Friday, May 26, 2017 by Nicole Hunter

During his meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas Tuesday and in speeches throughout the day, President Donald Trump notably omitted any mention of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Discussing his talks with Abbas, Trump spoke of achieving a peace deal, saying "I am committed to trying to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I intend to do everything I can to help them achieve that goal".

Abbas said that he was eager to become a partner in attempting to reach a deal that would establish a Palestinian state on territories occupied by Israel for over half a century.

A key ingredient to the relative success of Donald Trump's first foreign visit in office could be described as intentional amnesia, a condition that appeared to render the president as well as the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Israel (and presumably the Vatican, later this week) without memory of some of the most highly charged, critical comments or pledges the commander in chief has made in the a year ago.

In effect, it would offer Israel recognition by the Arab world and the "normalisation" of relations in exchange for a full withdrawal from the territory Israel has occupied since the June 1967 Middle East war, including East Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, Trump once again rejected the possibility of Hamas playing a role in any negotiations.

Trump wasn't quite so clear on the question of whether he removed Comey to disrupt an investigation of campaign ties to Russian Federation, but he did admit in the same interview that the probe was on his mind when he made the call to fire. The Palestinians believe that Israel is deliberately stalling any peace process while it builds settlements on Palestinian land, and Israel will negotiate only if Washington applies pressure.

"The time is now for the world to end Israel military rule", she told Al Jazeera.

Abbas had sought to convince the unpredictable U.S. president to remain committed to an independent Palestinian state.

Despite rumors this would be the case, former USA ambassador Dan Shapiro said it would be a surprise if Ivanka and Melania Trump had opted to pray with the president. "The president notably avoided all of the thorny issues that have stymied peace efforts for decades", The Associated Press noted.

"We can keep going through the charade of a peace process on and on".

"He's looking for a kind of outside-in approach, first peace between Israel and Sunni Arab states, who have a common enemy in Iran, and that regional peace leading to Israeli-Palestinian peace".

The days of Obama's mild criticisms of Israel's human rights record are over. We need to understand the situation as one where there's an occupier and an occupied.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and US President Donald Trump seen at Ben Gurion International Airport prior to the latter's departure from Israel on May 23, 2017. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he argued he never mentioned Israel, the source of the classified intelligence, according to various officials - something he has not been accused of doing. "But, before he runs too far ahead with dreams of a new Middle East, where Sunnis are willing to lay down their arms and live in peace with Israel, I could walk him through a few past new eras that didn't quite change things to the extent one would have hoped". Tonight, Trump is flying to the Vatican, where he's slated to meet with Pope Francis on Wednesday.

In what may concern peace advocates, he did not specifically mention the two-state solution, long the focus of global efforts and US Middle East diplomacy.